Golf club head and process of making the same



July 1-2, 1932. om 1,867,103

GOLF CLUB HEAD AND PROCESS OF MAKING THE SAME Filed Nov. 23, 1927 Patented July 12, 1932 UNITED STATES FREDERICK n. SGHAVOIR, or STAMFORD, CONNECTICUT, AssreNon TO soHAvopI'rn GOLF GORIORATION, or new YORK, N. Y.

GOLF CLUB HEAD AND PROCESS OF MAKING THE SAME A Application filed November 23, 1927. Serial No. 235,225." I

In the manufacture of golf clubs, particularly those known as drivers, brassies and spoons, it has been universally considered necessary to employ a head made of wood because of the known characteristics of such I woods, their tendency to shrink, etc.-many efforts have been made to find a substitute which would enhance the qualities possessed by the wood and at the same time facilitate the accuracy and consistency of manufacture.

In the formation of these club heads it is necessary for each one to be individually shaped by a highly skilled worker who carefully trims the body away by degrees until according to his feel it has the proper weight and balance so that actually the quality of the club and the accuracy which may accompany its use depend primarily upon the degree of skill of the particular artisan. However, no two workmen may have the eX- act amount of skill or the same grade of material from which to fashion the club head, and hence it is practically impossible to duplicate or produce standardized or consistently accurate constructions of clubs. A

To overcome the deficiencies of the materials, many expedients have been resorted to,

among which may be mentioned the application of metal, ivory and other weight imparting materials to the club head which not only add to the expense of manufacture but harmfully affect the control .in the use of the club because unless the impact with the ball occurs at the proper spot of the striking face in relation to the concentration of the weight, the tendency is to tumor twist, re

sulting in undesired slicing and Fhooking.

It has even been proposed to form the heads completely of metal or mostly of metal,.but a considerable amount of resiliency is sacri- To overcome the foregoing difliculties it has. been my aim toprovide amolded club head of resilient material, such as vulcanized rubber which has been so treated-in the vulcanizing process as to possess that degree of hardness required ,for obtaining the maxi mum distance of flight of theball andyetin sure that durability in use which isnecessary. My invention therefore resides in the provision of a new article of manufacture in the form of a molded, vulcanized rubber club head and a novel process of producing the article in such a manner that the exposed surface of the head possesses the necessary degree of hardness, which hardness gradually decreases toward the center, whereby the driving surface is backed by aresilient or elastic mass to produce the acceleration in the drive difl'erent shrinkage characteristics of the ma- .terials, the difficulty .of permanent attachment, and the effects of moistureupon the component parts of the head, to say nothing of the increased labor costs. Attempts to overcome these problems have been madeby using phenolic condensation products which may be molded. This substance, however, is unsuitable for the purposes because it is impossible to control the hardening and because of its tendency to brittleness and fracture, requiring the use of embedded reinforcing means which render it extremely diflicult to produce a well balanced head. 1 I In carrying out the process which constitutes an embodiment of this invention, the following ingredients may be employed in about the proportions which are specified: 32 parts rubber, 50 parts ground hard, rubber dust, and ,18 parts sulphur, together with a small amount of a known accelerator such as diphenol-guanadine. v

It is to be specifically understood that the foregoing formula is givenfasan,exemplification, and that the same may be modifiedso as to change the ingredients or proportions PATENT o FIce Where different ingredients or fillers are used, and I therefore do not wish to be limited in this respect. For example, if the rubber content is increased, necessarily the sulphur rmachine until the dough has been thoroughly conditioned. Then a suitable amount of the same isplaced in a properly shaped mold of the two-part type in which the tubular bushing which forms a part of the club head is preliminarily disposed. The mold is then placed in a suitably heated press and subjected to vulcanizing heatfor a period of approximately thirty minutes. .The' mass at the end of this first heating stage "has imparted to it the desired shape but is still in a pliable condition. It is now removed from the mold and subjected to open heat'at about 280 F. for a period of about three hours, depending upon the particular formula which may be employed. It is to be understood that the second stage of vulcanizing or hardening is carried to a pointrwhich is short'of rendering the material. brittle or frangible. The surface of the head is now ground to remove all projections and then polished on a cotton wheel in the usual manner; after which the staff is sealed or fixed in the tapered socket formed by the tubular bushing.

In carrying out the vulcanizing process, advantage is taken of this bushing to eifect a transmission of the, heat to the interior of the rubber mass, and by virtue of the result ant internal and external heat a body is formed in which the, outer surface is relatively hard because of its direct contact with theheat, the hardness gradually decreasing toward the center. In other words, the impact receiving surface is, backed by a resilient and elastic core, as above premised, and this is an important feature of my invention which gives rise to the advantageous results referred to, In order to present a compara tive result I note the following; tests made with a scleroscope: 7 7 A steel ball weighing 15 grams was dropped a distance of 20- centimeters onto a series of six club heads, producing a range of rebound readings from 4 5 to15,3. This same test made with a piece of high grade Wrought iron onto which the ball wasdropped every one-eighth inch produced readings-from 12 to 24 ,fshowing clearlythe great degree of elasticity or resiliency possessed by my article.

f It is of course desirable to employ a bushing of material possessing good heat conducting characteristics, suchas aluminum, brass or the, like, and preferably this bushing is. of ubula lfo u th dra Figure 1 is a side elevation of a golf" club constructed in accordance with my invention,

portions being broken away and shown in section to disclose the details of construction;

Figure 2 is a top plan view; and

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the tubu- V lar bushing or shaft socket.

. The vulcanized rubber body of the club head is designated by the numeral 1, and the bushing 2. It will be noted that the outer end of the tube is reamed out to, provide a taper for the, correspondingly formed end of the shaft, while the inner end of the bushing is flattened to. prevent the passage of the rubber to the shaft socket. Preferably this bushing extends throughout the length of the club head or the major portion thereof. By following the foregoing process a club head of the exact shape and weight desired is obtained and having the resiliencyrequired without the tendency to split off or break." Further, no difficulty of reproduction exists once the proper form of the head is obtained and'the expense of manufacture of the article is materially reduced. It is to be understood, of course, that a metal base plate may be provided for the club head and Where this is desired the plate is simply formed with the necessary connectingflanges or projections andg'laid in the base of the mold before the rubber is introduced into the same. In the hardening of the rubber the plate becomes firmly attached to the body and requires no other fastening means.

Vvhile this is of considerable importance in my product,.it is deemed unnecessary to illustrate the same because it will be readily un derstood from the foregoing description.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is 1. A golf club heador the like formed of homogeneous vulcanized rubber having a relatively hard impact'surfa ce backed by a resilient mass. v H

' 2. A golf club he'ad; or thellike formed. of molded vulcanized rubber having a relatively hard exterior and a solid non-hardened elastic interior. 1 I I 3. A golf club head or the'like ofvulcanized rubber comprising a solid body vulcanized to ahardness gradually decreasing from the surface to the interior; center.

4. A golf club head comprising 'a body formed of a molded relatively hard and resilient composition and having: a core memher .of heat conducting material extending throughout the 'major'portion of the body;

5. A golf club head comprising a solid body of molded relatively hard and non: 

